


More than meets the eye

by Dark_Strange_Night



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender, Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aromantic Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Awkward Carlos, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Carlos and Cecil are Dorks, Carlos is Human, Carlos is a Dork, Carlos is a Nerd, Cecil Has A Third Eye, Cecil is Described (Welcome to Night Vale), Cecil is Mostly Human, Cecilos Fluff, Crossover, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is a Dork, Keith is Cecil and Carlos' son, Kissing, Lance (Voltron) Speaks Spanish, M/M, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Protective Cecil, Sassy Pidge | Katie Holt, Scientist Carlos (Welcome to Night Vale), Tattooed Cecil, i mean klance, kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-03-29 16:12:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13930620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Strange_Night/pseuds/Dark_Strange_Night
Summary: You believe in aliens but not in lights above Arby's? -KeithThey did it. They had finally won this war and were returning back to Earth.  After a lot of talking, and convincing, Keith finally decided to accept and contact his family.  Welcome to Night Vale, Paladins.





	1. Chapter 1

Keith sighed softly, sitting on his bed. He looked through a journal he had kept hidden, a smile appearing as he kept flipping through the pages, filled with notes and pictures and drawings.

The journal was an old leather one. A small rope would wrap around it to keep it closed. The pages were yellow with some pages looking newer or older than the rest. A few words here and there were smudged or fainted, the drawings weren't as clean as they originally were. As for the pictures, they seemed as pristine and new as the day they were taken, some were in black and white while others were in color.

Keith lightly brushed his fingers over one of the pictures. Two men were smiling as the man with the blonde hair and strange purple tattoos on his arms and what seemed to be a third eye on his forehead, held a younger boy, maybe no older than 5. The other man, dark-skinned, probably Latino from the looks of it, with perfect dark hair stood beside the blonde, an arm around the man's waist.

The teen smiled softly, memories washing over him. He turned the page, laughing softly at the simple words that held more meaning than they seemed. "All hail..." he murmured. He kept flipping through the pages till something caught his eye, reading over the quick, slightly loopy, writing of the blonde from the photograph. "Dad... You insane man..." he said under his breath, laughing softly.

"Paladins, please come to the command room," Allura's voice sounded through the coms. 

Keith ran a hand through his hair, deciding to put the journal inside his jacket before walking out, heading to the command room. He stepped inside, standing beside Lance. 

Lance looked at him, giving him a grin. He lightly grabbed his hand, their fingers intertwining.

Keith smiled, faintly blushing. He wondered if he would ever get used to this acts of affection Lance did, but he wasn't going to complain. he loved the affection, he loved Lance even more. He looked towards Allura, everyone finally present.

Allura smiled, looking at all of them before taking a breath and saying, "Paladins, as we all know, the war is finally over, there are still many things to be done but I did not call you here to talk about anything like that. We will be approaching Earth soon, therefore Coran and I have decided that we should find a way to contact your families." 

Lance lit up almost immediately at that. Hunk smiled, tears already forming. Pidge and Matt looked at each other, hugging the other, their father joining the hug, smiling at the thought of contacting their mother and wife, accordingly. Shiro smiled softly. Keith tensed slightly, wondering if the reason he had decided to look at the journal had anything to do with this.

The journal did hold the only way to listen to the Night Vale radio. Which would mean his father would know immediately he had basically contacted them.

"Would you need to know the locations of our families then, princess?" Shiro asked.

Allura gave a nod, smiling. "Yes, that would be very much appreciated."

Of course, they didn't expect many surprises to happen. 

Keith listened as the others said the locations of their families, finally it was his turn. He shifted slightly once Allura looked at him.

"And you, Keith?"

"Uh... Night Vale, USA..." Keith answers, biting his lip.

The others look at him, a bit confused. Lance was the first to speak, "I have never heard of that place."

Keith gave him a weak smile. "It's... kinda in the middle of nowhere, not many people know of the place."

Pidge frowned slightly, eyes narrowing. "It is odd though that no one here has even heard of it, or anything like that. Are you really telling the truth?" She had leaned closer, giving Keith a questioning look with just the smallest hint of an accusation. 

"I'm not lying, Night Vale just doesn't have too many... things..." Keith said, feeling a bit nervous. He knew this would happen. He really wished it wouldn't happen. He really didn't want to involve his friends and boyfriend in the strange community that is Night Vale. "It... Look it doesn't really matter, I don't think it's a good idea to go anyways..."

"Oh, don't be like that, buddy, of course, we're going, at least I am, gotta meet the familia," Lance said, throwing an arm around Keith's shoulders and giving him a wink.

Keith fought back a blush looking down. "I..." he sighed, "Fine... But there's... Things you guys need to know first before we even contact Dad."

"Of course, let's go to the lounge then," Allura said, smiling lightly.

The Paladins walked towards the said location, sending a few glances towards Keith as they walked. Once they entered they all sat down in their usual spots, Lance sitting closer to Keith, having seen how nervous Keith seemed to have gotten.

"Right, so this... 'Night Vale'... Keith." Pidge looked at the black haired teen, eyes filled with curiosity. She would have so many questions. Matt too. Probably Sam as well.

Keith shifted slightly in place before taking a deep breath. He took out the old journal, undoing the rope and opening it to one of the first pages. "So... Night Vale... It... It exists and it doesn't... You won't find it in the records as it is not meant to be found, but it is," Keith said, showing the page.

A photograph in black and white was on the page. In the photo, there was a radio tower to the left, several small houses and bigger houses, as well as an Arby's in the right side that seemed to have lights over it. In the middle and closest to whoever had taken the photo was a man. He seemed to not be aware that his picture was being taken as he had his head bowed, crouching over some type of object, taking notes.

"That's part of the main section," Keith spoke up, as the others looked at the picture. 

"Who's the guy?" asked Lance, head tilting to the side. He glanced up at Keith, who had a small smile on his face.

"That would be Carlos, one of my dads," Keith said, earning surprised looks from most of them.

"Wait, wait, wait... You have a dad? I thought you were an orphan?" Hunk asked, looking a bit confused, waving his hands slightly in a 'stop' motion. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Keith blinked. "I told Lance..?" he replied, although it sounded more like a question like he wasn't exactly sure what he should say. When he didn't get much of a reaction he leaned back slightly, moving closer to Lance.

Lance nodded, an arm wrapping around Keith's waist, pulling him even closer. "Oh, yeah, Keith told me he has dads, although you haven't told me why you keep it a secret." Lance looked at him, the fingers of the hand that rested on his waist slightly curling against it.

Keith sighed. He knew he would have to also explain this. He truly had hated having to lie and keep it a secret from the team. He had told Lance about his parents a few weeks after they started dating because he didn't want to keep such a secret from Lance, but he had only told him that he actually had parents. That was all. "When I went to the Garrison I had to say I was an orphan, as well as change my last name and some other information-"  
  
"Wait, so what's your name?" Allura asked, curiosity clear in her voice. They all looked mostly curious. Especially Matt and Pidge.

"It's Keith Gershwin Palmer..." Keith mumbled, shifting slightly. "Keeping my identity a secret was the only way I would be allowed to safely leave Night Vale and go to the Garrison," he added quickly before anyone could say anything.

Lance pursed his lips. "I did not expect those last names," he said before shrugging.

"So what's so special about Night Vale?" Pidge asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Apart from the giant Glow Cloud (all hail) that drops dead animals?" 

They blinked, the Alteans wondering if this was something normal although from how the others looked they guessed that wasn't really the case.

"Hold up, what?" Hunk asked, putting his hands up. 

Keith smirked. "Yeah," he said.

^-^

A blonde man with silver-blue eyes walked down a hall, glasses glinting as the purple-tinted light hit the metal. He walked into the recording booth, sitting down in his usual seat.

The "On Air" sign turned on.

"The past is gone, and cannot harm you anymore. And while the future is fast coming for you, it always flinches first and settles in as the gentle present... Welcome, to Night Vale."

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has left Kudos and commented, it makes me extremely happy to know that you guys are liking it!  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter, I wish I could have made it longer but my schedule is pretty packed with school stuff, including sound design things for a play but I refuse to not update today! Anyways, enjoy!

_"The past is gone, and cannot harm you anymore. And while the future is fast coming for you, it always flinches first and settles in as the gentle present... Welcome, to Night Vale."_

\-----------------

As Cecil informed the town of Night Vale of the occurrences. Back in space, in the castle of Lions. The Paladins were getting things ready to contact their families, specifically Matt, Pidge, and Hunk who were tinkering with the contact radio of the ship so that it could reach their families. Keith stayed back, reading through a couple of the pages in his journal, making sure he hadn't missed any information.

"Alright, we should be able to contact our families now," Pidge said, turning towards the others.

Allura smiled. "Wonderful, who will go first?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Well, seeing as we can contact our families because of Pidge, Matt, and Hunk, I think they should be the first to contact their families," Shiro said, earning a couple of nods of agreement.

"I can go after you guys," Hunk said, looking at the Holts, earning a smile in response from them.

As they waited for Mrs. Holt to accept the incoming call, Coran and Allura started to make sure the course to Earth was correct, making sure all calculations were taken into account, Lance went over to Keith, reading over the notes that wherein the journal, Keith moving it slightly so it was easier for Lance to read it, Hunk and Shiro chatted, Hunk explaining things about his family while Shiro simply listened.

^-^

Keith felt like it had taken forever till everyone, except him and the two Alteans of course, had talked with their families. The Holts had clearly been some of the longest, a lot of tears having been shed. It was closely followed by Hunk's family who had been with Lance's so Lance had made sure to pop into the conversation. As much as Keith loved lance, he hadn't been the happiest to meet Lance's family, afraid of what they would say or how they would react, he guessed that when they had been pretty positive - if being threatened by Lance's siblings somewhat would be positive - the he guessed it hadn't been too bad in the end.

Lance looked at Keith, an eyebrow raised. "Are you going to contact your family now?"

Keith paused for a second, looking at Lance before nodding. "Yeah... Just give me a second," he said, walking over to the communication unit. He tapped into the radio option and started to quickly press buttons, typing in the codes. It didn't take much till the radio turned to static and then some type of music started to be heard. Once it finished, Keith took a deep breath. "Hey, dad..."

Silence and then a gasp. "K-Keith?" the voice asked. It seemed the person was in shock, probably not believing it was really Keith.

"Yeah, it's me," Keith answered, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"You're... You're alive... But... How? We somehow managed to receive word from the Garrison that you had been expelled but then didn't show up back here, for what Carlos says was at least a month, we got worried that something happened..."

Keith had to cut off his father before he started to ramble. "I know, dad... It's a long story but... I'll be coming home soon, I'll tell you everything I can... I have to go now, dad."

"Okay... Alright, Keith, I'll... I'll see you then," Keith's father said before the line went dead.

Keith took a deep breath, turning towards the other Paladins and Alteans. "Alright, he knows... Let's head to Earth then..."

A pause before they all nodded, starting to quickly move. "We're almost home, we're gonna see mom soon," Pidge said excitedly, looking at her father and brother.

Matt grinned, exclaiming, "Yes! I can't wait!"

Sam smiled warmly as he looked at his children. "Alright, as much as I am excited to see Colleen again, we still have several things that we need to help with before traveling to Earth, so let's go!"

"Yeah!"

Lance grabbed Keith's hand, having noticed the blank look Keith had. The touch of Lance seemed to snap Keith out of this trance he seemed to have been in. "Keith?"

"Uh, yeah, what?" Keith asked, looking up at Lance. His eyes seemed brighter, more of a violet than his usual blue-gray.

"You okay? You kinda blanked out for a second," Lance said, brushing away a strand of hair from Keith's face. The Cuban hid a smirk when red blossomed on Keith's cheeks.

"Yeah, I'm fine... Just thinking... Let's go help out," Keith said.

Soon everyone was doing something. Lance kept glancing towards Keith, making sure his boyfriend was okay, or at least as okay as he could see.

Allura placed her hands on the teleduv **(Please let me know if this is the correct name for what Allura uses to wormhole places)** a wormhole appearing soon. The castle was steered into the wormhole and seconds later they were in the solar system that Earth resided in.

"Alright, Paladins, go to your lions."

^-^

"Carlos!" Cecil had shouted as soon as the call with Keith had ended, scrambling out of the radio station and to Carlos' lab. The host of the Night Vale radio, running to his husband's lab, was surprisingly a pretty normal thing to see from time to time so no one gave it much thought. It was Night vale after all.

Carlos looked over at Cecil when he just barreled in. "Cecil, careful," he said, quickly walking over to him. "What's wrong?"

"I believe the correct question is, 'what is right?'. Anyways, Keith is coming home!"

Carlos blinked. "Keith..?" he asked softly, voice shaking slightly.

"Yeah... He's alive... He contacted me, and he said he will be coming home soon."

Carlos nodded numbly, his brain still processing the information that his son was alive. Tears started to form and slowly fall down his cheeks.

Cecil noticed the tears, gently brushing them away. "Oh, sweet Carlos..." he whispered, gently kissing his forehead.

"I... I can't believe it... This, this one of the best news I've ever been told..."

Cecil laughed softly, pulling Carlos close.

"Soon."

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone, for kudos and comments!  
> I'm so sorry that this chapter turned out so short, I'll try to update before Saturday and the Saturday as well to make up for it. Being the sound director/tech for the school play is taking up most of my after-school time apart from clubs but spring break is the week after this one so I'll do my best to write during that time.  
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!

_"Soon."_

\-----------------

Cecil watched as Carlos tested substances that the blonde didn't feel the need to know the name of, especially when there are better things to do like watch your perfect husband, instead of learning the names of substances.   
  
"Cecil," Carlos spoke up, eyes still fixed on what he was doing.

"Yeah?"

"Seeing as how time here in Night Vale is different, do you think when Keith gets here it will be during this week, or maybe a month later? But outside it's actually just been a day or two since he contacted you." The Latino man turned towards his husband, dark eyes full of curiosity. 

"All I know is that when he gets here it will be soon," Cecil answered, smiling. "But let's not think about that now, alright? Our thoughts will not be strong enough to make him appear here." The host stood, walking over to his husband.

"Yeah, that's true... Do you want to help me with this?" 

"Sure!"

^-^

"Bye Mama," Hunk said, hugging his mother, a couple tears falling. The other Paladins, and Matt staying back with the lions to give Hunk and his family some privacy while they said their goodbyes.

They had already seen Pidge's family, and at the same time, they had happened to see Shiro's as they had happened to have been visiting Pidge's mother, Sam had stayed. There had been many tears, hugs, and a lot of questions about what had happened, especially because of Shiro's arm.

Shiro's mother had basically adopted Keith as a son, and everyone else in Shiro's family had soon followed. Keith had been pretty surprised and Shiro was very amused by everything and lance had found it adorable, and he made sure to tease Keith about it as well.

Hunk walked back to the Paladins after a couple more minutes. "Alright, now for my family?" Lance asked once Hunk was with them.

They agreed and climbed into the lions, flying off to where Lance's family was. lance taking the lead.

Keith took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. He couldn't help but be nervous. What if Lance's family decided he wasn't worth their son? Keith wasn't sure what he would do if lance broke up with him. He reasoned that Lance wouldn't break up with him but the fear was still there. He wanted to stay with Lance for as long as possible. 

Keith shook his head, pushing away the thoughts.  He decided to not dwell on what could happen and instead just wait till he met Lance's family and hope for the best. From what Lance had said about his family, they were pretty accepting and clearly loved Lance and wanted him to be happy - and his siblings too - and Keith made Lance happy. Right? Lance told him so but what if... No. He wasn't going to let this get to him. He loved Lance. Lance loved him. That's that.

Before Keith knew it, they were already approaching a home. Lance's home. Keith swallowed, taking a deep breath, calming himself. When they landed the lions and got out, there was already a group of people running towards them - those who looked older walked - but they all had smiles on their faces. A woman that clearly was Lance's mother hugged the teen tears falling down her face.

"Oh, cariño, it's really you," she whispered, hands shaking slightly as she held Lance's face.

Lance smiled, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Sí, mama..." he said softly, being hugged once more by his mother. The rest of his family soon joined the hug.

It was a couple of minutes later after most everyone had calmed down and stopped crying that they pulled away from the hug, Lance's mother and a couple of his siblings and cousins staying close to him. "Um, this are my friends and well..." Lance trailed off, looking at Keith.

"Oh, it's so nice to meet you all, and Hunk, I'm so glad to see you too, I'm Maria, Lance's mother," the woman said with a warm smile.

"I'm Shiro."

"Well, my name is Katie but call me Pidge and this is my brother Matt." Matt waved in response.

Lance sent Keith a small smile as if he could tell that his boyfriend was nervous. He probably did. "I'm Keith," he said, looking at Maria.

"Well, let's all go inside so everyone can introduce themselves."

They nodded and followed the family to the house. Lance waited a bit so that he could walk beside Keith, at the back of the group. "How are you?" he asked softly as they walked.

"A bit nervous if I'm honest... I can't help but worry that they won't like me..."

"Don't worry, Keith, they'll like you, and if for whatever reason they don't... Well, I don't care, because I love you."

Keith smiled softly. "Love you too," he whispered.

^-^

Everything had gone surprisingly well so far. Lance's family seemed to enjoy Keith's company which calmed both Keith and Lance down. "I think you guys should tell them today," Hunk said, crossing his legs as he sat on his bed, looking at lance and Keith.

"I agree with Hunk," Shiro said, leaning his back against the bed as he sat on the floor.

Lance looked at Keith, arms around him as the (now) purple eyed teen leaned against him, holding his hand. 

Keith switched his gaze from the floor to Hunk and Shiro. "I..."

"I think we should, but only if you agree," Lance said softly, kissing his temple.

Keith looked up at him. "Fine..." he said after a second.

Lance grinned, kissing him softly. Of course, Pidge had to decide that that moment was good enough as any to walk in. "Hey, Hunk, Shiro, lovebirds. Come on, lunch is soon."

Hunk got up, followed by Shiro. "Alright, let's go," Hunk said, walking out.

Lance groaned, pulling away from the kiss. "Yeah, yeah..."

Keith laughed softly, standing up and tugging Lance up as well. 

They walked down the stairs. Both Lance and Keith thinking of how they could tell Lance's family. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop, it's around 1000 words finally :D I managed to write yesterday cause no school and next week is Spring Break so what free time I get between visiting places I'll write.  
> I wanted to also say, cause I would like my readers to feel more involved (and I'm still on like episode 68 of WTNV), if any of you have any suggestions of what you would like to see, you can either comment here or if you wish to remain anonymous send an ask to my Tumblr dark-strange-night  
> And now, thank you once more for Kudos and Comments, I hope you enjoy!

_They walked down the stairs. Both Lance and Keith thinking of how they could tell Lance's family._

_\-------------------_

They sat around the table, people talking and telling jokes. One of Lance's cousins asking Shiro as many questions as she could come up with. Matt found it adorable how Shiro tried to answer and would occasionally glance at him in a silent plea for help.

Keith glanced at Lance who had managed to sit beside him, trying to control his nerves. He quietly nudged him, getting his attention. When Lance turned to him with a questioning look, Keith quietly nodded towards Lance's parents. Lance shook his head, Keith nodded.

Lance's mother seemed to notice the quiet argument between the two. "Is something wrong?"

"No!" they both replied at the same time, looking at her.

Maria raised an eyebrow at that, everyone slowly quieting down, their attention slowly turning towards Lance and Keith. "Really? Because there seems to be something wrong unless you two just argue quietly for no reason. So, what is it?"

Keith glanced at Lance. "You tell her."

"Fine... Well, you see... Keith has something he wants to say."

"No, I don't! You're the one who has something to say," Keith said quickly, a faint blush dusting his cheeks.

Lance shook his head. "Not true. Plus, it's Hunk and Shiro who have something to say." He pointed at the two, earning a facepalm from Shiro and a sigh from Hunk in return.

"You two are the ones who have to tell them," Shiro sighed.

"You aren't one to talk," Keith mumbled under his breath, crossing his arms. 

"Hey, we said it where we had to, as, for you two, now is as best of a time to say it."

Matt nodded, smirking, "Yep, agreed." Pidge stifled a laugh, highly amused by the red that dusted Lance and Keith's cheeks.

Maria frowned slightly. "Lance? You can tell us." The rest of the family nodded.

Lance bit his lip, glancing at Keith when the teen grabbed his hand. "I... Well, I... You see... Um..." he mumbled, shifting slightly. Keith gently squeezed his hand, eyes focused on the suddenly very interesting pattern of the table.

"Keith and I... are dating..." Lance finally managed to say; Keith nodding slightly. 

"Oh... Why didn't you say so sooner? I'm so happy for you two!" Maria exclaimed, smiling. 

"Yeah, hermano, we support you, and if Keith hurts you just let us know and we'll make sure to ah, talk with him," Lance's brother said, smirking.

Keith paled slightly.

"Oh don't worry, he's more bark than bite, in my case, however, I will make you regret hurting my younger brother."

"Guys, please, Keith would never. Right, Keith?" Lance asked when he looked at his violet-eyed boyfriend.

Keith nodded. "Of course... I would never..."

"Well, now that that's settled," Maria interrupted before anyone else could join the threatening train. She turned to the couple, smiling. "I am very happy for you two and Keith, you seem like a good kid, I trust you will take care of Lance, he can be very clumsy."

"I am not clumsy!"

Keith smiled softly, nodding. "Of course, ma'am."

Maria smiled. "Now, let's finish our meal."

^-^

Cecil sighed, smiling. "And get this, dear listeners, my son, you know Keith. He's going to arrive soon, and it seems he's bringing friends. In other news- Oh, well... It seems there aren't many, well this is certainly strange, dear listeners. The Sheriff's secret police wish to remind you that when talking to please make sure to talk loud enough so that they can hear you. Rico's Pizzeria is having a special offer, they say it's incredibly special."

Carlos leaned back in his chair, eyes closed as he listened to his husband report on the daily, strange, occurrences of the little desert town of Night Vale. He opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling as he thought of Keith. He sighed, wishing his son was already home. With them. He got up, walking to his shelf and pulling out a journal. He flipped through the pages, stopping when he reached where the pictures of Keith were.

He smiled softly. As he looked at the pictures, the weather came on after Cecil had mentioned something about the school's baseball. The Latino looked over at the radio, chuckling softly. "I think the weather might just be one thing I will never understand in this town..." he murmured. 

Carlos stretched, putting away the journal and going back to his desk before deciding to go to his lab, deciding to try to figure out one of the many mysteries of the town. As he worked, the weather ended and the warm, low voice of his husband sounded again. He smiled softly, glancing at the radio. "And now I leave you with the sound of nothingness... Good Night, Night Vale... Good Night..." Cecil's voice faded and Carlos' turned off the radio. He went back to his experiment, humming softly under his breath as he finished, pursing his lips slightly at the result he got. He swore it wasn't supposed to look that way.

Carlos shook his head, putting everything away. "Guess I might as well head back home..." he mumbled as he walked out of his lab, closing and locking the door. He walked through the town, making sure to not glance at the Dog Park when he happened to end up near it. He wasn't sure why he just did. He entered the apartment complex and headed up to his home. He unlocked the door and walked in.

"Hi, Carlos," Cecil said when he walked in. The blonde man walked over, smiling softly as he looked at him.

"Hello, Cecil." Carlos placed a kiss on his cheek, smiling when Cecil blushed. "What do you want to do?" 

Cecil tilted his head to the side slightly, closing his eyes. Main two eyes. The third one stayed on Carlos. "I guess... We could... Hm... That's strange, I can't think of anything."

"Do you want to see Koshekh?"

"Sure! And then we can go to the open field and wait a few minutes until Keith and his friends show up."

"Alright... Okay, let's go then." Carlos smiled when Cecil grabbed his hand and they walked out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sick but I managed to write this yay  
> Anyways, thank you so much for the comments and kudos!  
> And remember, if there's anything you would like to see, go ahead and leave a comment

_"Alright... Okay, let's go then." Carlos smiled when Cecil grabbed his hand and they walked out._

_\-----------_

Keith hummed softly to the music that drifted from the radio that Lance had decided to turn on as the Paladins and Matt rode in the lions. He ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes. He was glad Lance had decided to turn on the radio, and Keith was mostly waiting for the coming static. The familiar static that signaled the nearing of Night Vale.

As if called upon by Keith's thoughts, he wouldn't be surprised if he had, the music slowly started to change to static. 

"Wha-? Why is the music gone all of a sudden?" Lance asked, clearly having been taken out of whatever daze the music had put him in. 

Keith smirked. "Welcome... To Night Vale."

As Keith said the final words, they were joined by the sound of the radio, a man with a deep voice saying the same thing before a bit of music played. "Come on, let's head down."

With that, Keith led Red down towards a clearing, the others following. Shiro sent a message to Allura to let her know they had arrived. When they landed, Keith was the first out of his lion. The rest following.

Two men and some other people who stayed farther away looked at the Paladins. The man with blonde hair markings on his arms that - moved? No, not possible, right? - waved, grinning. The other man had dark skin and black hair, smiled softly.

Keith ran to them and the blonde happily accepted the hug, the other man joining. Lance smiled softly, watching his boyfriend hug the other two men. They resembled the pictures Keith had shown them, so they were probably his fathers. Cecil, and Carlos.

Cecil, the blonde, looked over at the Paladins, walking up to them while Carlos and Keith talked. "Hi!" he said, grinning. "I'm Cecil."

Shiro smiled, noticing the moving markings and the small glow from his forehead that resembled an... eye. "Hello, I'm Shiro, and this is Lance, Pidge, Hunk, and Matt."

They each waved in turn. Pidge and Matt had a curious glint in their eyes as they looked at the markings, Lance felt slightly nervous mostly. Cecil looked at them, noticing the sibling's looks. "You two remind me of my husband Carlos. Are you scientists as well?" he asked, something about him made it seem like he already knew. Like he knew all of them.

"Well, not exactly, but in a way, I guess," Matt replied. "How do those markings move? I've never seen anything like them..."  
  
"Oh, well I'm not sure myself, they have a mind of their own in a way. However... You've never seen anything like this? Keith also has them."

Lance looked at him at that, not thinking Keith would be mentioned. "Wait, really? He's never shown m- us his markings or anything." Good safe, Lance.

Cecil hummed. "Well, I guess he must have found a way to hide them then."

Keith and Carlos walked closer, a couple citizens having run off when they decided that staying wasn't safe, or that the newcomers were not dangerous, at least not at the moment. Carlos had a smirk on his face and Keith had a faint blush. 

Cecil looked at them, smiling at Carlos for a second before shifting most of his attention to Keith. "How come you have hidden your markings?"

"I... Didn't want to be questioned about my markings... They aren't seen as exactly... Normal outside of town," Keith answered, voice soft.  Lance inched closer to him, wanting to hold his hands but deciding that being close to him would have to be enough for now. Keith however, did grab his hand.

Cecil didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he didn't say anything. "Well, I guess that makes sense... Are you going to keep them hidden?"

Keith shook his head. "No... I'll let my markings show while here but it takes a bit for them to appear again." He glanced at Lance, smiling softly when the Cuban intertwined their fingers.

"Carlos, this two, Pidge, and Matt, they say they're like scientists."

That seemed to be enough to grab the curiosity of Carlos and he looked at the siblings. "Really? Well, then if you want, maybe you can come to my lab while here."

Matt nodded. "Yeah, totally."

"Okay, but before that let's go to the apartment, yeah?" Keith spoke up before the trio could go figure out the secrets of the town. His eyes flashed a light gray before returning to purple.

Carlos, Matt, and Pidge sighed, frowning. "Fine..."

Cecil and Shiro looked at each other, shrugging. "Okay then, this way!" he said, turning and walking towards the apartment complex.

The group followed the radio host, Lance and Keith staying in the back. "So... They know?" Lance asked softly, looking at Keith.

Keith gave a nod. "Dad already knew way before we even got here, Pa kinda just... Managed to get it out of me."

"Well... At least they're okay with us, right?"

"All I know is that they haven't decided yet but... I doubt they'll have a problem with us."

Lance nodded, taking a deep breath. "Okay..."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all kudos and to my friend for ideas.  
> Also, in this chapter, there's mention of making out and hinting at PTSD, nothing exactly explicit but I still wanted to let you guys know  
> Also still feel sick yeet

_Lance nodded, taking a deep breath. "Okay..."_

_\-------------------_

Cecil opened the door to the apartment, standing to the side to let Carlos, Matt, and the Paladins walk inside before following, letting the door close behind them.

Pidge and Matt were looking around curiously, Shiro staying closer to Matt. Hunk looked at the kitchen, blinking slightly at some of the... things. Lance shifted nervously, glancing at Keith, trying to calm himself.

"I'll show you the rooms," Keith finally said, heading down the hall. The others followed, Cecil and Carlos stayed in the living room. Keith opened one of the doors.

It was simple looking over all. A couple of posters on the walls and some items on a table. "Who wants this room?" Keith asked, looking at them.

Matt raised his hand while holding Shiro's hand up as well. "Us!"

Shiro looked at him. "Wha... Okay then."

Keith shrugged. "Okay. Come on then, let's get the other rooms." Keith started walking again before opening another door.

The bedroom had two beds, and some things that could be probably used for mechanics.

"We'll take this room," Pidge said, dragging Hunk inside.

Lance looked at Keith, now that they were the only two that were still there. "And the final room," Keith said, walking to the door near the end of the hall, opening it and walking inside.

Lance followed and looked around. This room definitely looked like it had been lived in. Posters of Night Vale, maps, and a couple of the advertisements that the Garrison had sent were stuck on the walls.

The bed was still somewhat unmade. The covers a mix of red and purple. A desk at the other end with several books still marked with where they were last closed and some still open.

"I'm guessing this is or was or is or whatever your room?"

Keith gave a nod, sitting down on his bed. Lance sat beside him, grabbing his hand as Keith put his head on his shoulder.

"Feels weird being back here," the black haired male murmured. He looked at his arm, sighing. "The marks should appear sometime."

Lance pulled him closer, nuzzling him and kissing the top of his head. "It's nice, and I'm sure your marks look great."

"Strange."

"Same thing when it comes to you," Lance teased.

Keith rolled his eyes in response. "Whatever you say, sharpshooter."

^-^

Keith was smiling, dragging Lance down the street. "Come on, Lance."

Lance raised an eyebrow, quickening his pace. "Keith, shouldn't we be staying at your home or something? It's kinda really late."

Keith's markings that had started to appear recently changed to a darker color, as if annoyed. Keith rolled his eyes. "No. I gotta show you this," he said.

Lance looked around, noticing the Arby's sign. "Arby's? seriously, Keith?"

Keith nudged him, pointing up. "Look behind the sign. See the glowing lights?"

Lance followed Keith's arm, finger, to where he was pointing, gasping softly at the lights. "How? I don't believe that..."

Keith smirked. "You believe in aliens and not in the lights above Arby's?"

"I didn't exactly say that!" Lance protested, crossing his arms.

"Nope, you said that you don't believe that, so yes, you totally said that."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Oh, shush," he said, wrapping an arm around Keith.

"Make me," Keith murmured, looking up at Lance, placing his hands on Lance's shoulders.

Lance pulled him closer, brushing his lips against Keith's, breathes mixing. They stayed still for a few seconds before Keith pressed himself closer, kissing Lance. Lance trailed his hands down Keith's back to place them on his hips.

Keith hummed softly, eyes closed. He tangles his fingers in Lance's hair, tugging on his hair slightly. Lance smirked, pressing Keith against the nearby wall. Lance paused for a moment, unsure of how that wall was even there, not exactly remembering there being a wall but pushed the thought away when Keith tightened his grip on Lance.

Keith let out a shaky breath when they pulled away, still close. "Lance..." he murmured, eyes half closed.

Lance hummed, kissing his jaw. "I love you... So much..."

Keith smiled softly. "I love you too..."

"Wanna continue making out?"

"Definitely."

Lance smirked, kissing Keith once more.

^-^

Carlos looked up when Shiro walked in. "Hey."

Shiro waved slightly "Hey... Uh, Carlos, right?"  
  
"Yep. Is something wrong?"

"I don't think so just... I went to check up on Keith and Lance since I kinda started checking up on everyone and uh yeah... Anyways... They weren't there."

"Oh, yeah, Keith and Lance left a bit ago, I think Keith wanted to show Lance something."

"Ah... Okay," Shiro said, shifting slightly.

Carlos patted the spot beside him. "Come here and tell me the reason why you're awake- and don't say it's just you checking up on them."

Shiro sighed, sitting in the spot beside Carlos. He looked down.

Carlos gently patted his back. "So what's bothering you?"

"I just... I keep seeing them..."

"Is there anything that makes the memories reappear? Or are they just there?"

"I can usually ignore them but when I go sleep there are no distractions to keep the memories at bay..."

"Maybe you can try to take a sleeping pill? And talking about it."

"Yeah... I guess so..."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I got some time Thursday and Friday to write and I was able to write more than a 1000 words finally!  
> Thank you so much for kudos and comments.  
> Also, I'm probably gonna start piling up chapters since finals and stuff are nearing as well as I'm going out of the country to visit family so I don't know when I'll have wifi again. However, I've been thinking of making this around 15 chapters long, please let me know what you think!

_"Yeah... I guess so..."_   

\--------------------------

Keith hummed softly, leaning back on the couch, eyes closed. It was peaceful. No shouting. No screams of fear. He sighed softly, looking over at his side when he felt someone sit beside him. "Hey, Lance."

Lance smiled softly, kissing his forehead. "So... Last night was nice," he murmured with a smirk.

Keith blushed, looking up at him. "Oh shut up..." he mumbled, hiding his face in Lance's chest.

Lance chuckled softly. "Why do you always blush in response? Not that I'm complaining," he said, "Last night you didn't blush."

Keith hit his arm, looking to the side. "Maybe I should go visit dad."

"No," Lance whined, wrapping his arms around Keith and holding him close. "I'm sorry, babe." Lance pouted, giving Keith his best puppy eyes.

Keith raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure... Khoshekh is there as well."

Lance rested his head on Keith's shoulder. "I think you should stay cause I love you and I really like being around you."  
  
"Thinking again... I think I'll stay here."

Lance grinned, placing a kiss on his jaw. "Wonderful thinking."

Keith hummed in response, intertwining their fingers together. "So... What you wanna do? Everyone else isn't here."

Lance pursed his lips, trying to think of something. "What's something you wanted to do but never got the chance?"

"Go into the library and kill the librarians," Keith said, looking up at Lance. When he saw Lance's surprised look, Keith chuckled. "Trust me, it's way different than you might think it is."

"Okay... Let's go break into that library."

Keith grinned in response.

^-^

Carlos turned on the radio when he walked into his lab, followed by the Holt siblings. "Right, so what do you guys wanna test out first?"

Matt pointed at a mechanic looking object that was shaking. "That."

Pidge nodded and Carlos looked at it. "Yes."

The voice of Cecil drifted through the radio, talking about the baseball team. Something about an owl controlling minds and making a new baseball team to fight the other baseball groups. Carlos didn't even blink at that. Matt and Pidge, however, stared at the radio, not sure what to believe from what they had just heard.

"You would be surprised how normal that ends up being," Carlos said. Cecil had already moved on to another topic, something about Tamika and her book club going to get rid of some things. Also a reminder that wheat and wheat-by products were illegal after angrily saying Steve Carlsberg, as you do.

"I'm guessing Cecil doesn't like this Steve Carlsberg."

Carlos nodded in response. "Hates him. Steve Carlsberg is the husband of Cecil's sister and step-father of Janice."

"Ah, alright well, let's test that thing out!" Pidge said, grinning. Matt grinned as well.

The three walked to the machine, Carlos grabbing it, and they walked out, finding a clearing. "So what do you think it is or can do?"

"I say we throw water at-" Pidge stopped talking when the machine started to scurry away from them at the mention of water.

The three kinda just stood there, staring before breaking out of their shock. "After it!" Matt yelled.

Cecil glanced outside of his window. "And Matt, Pidge, and my husband Carlos are running after a machine thing. It looks like Pidge is the fastest. Oh, and Pidge has jumped onto the machine and is being dragged, dear listeners. Matt has jumped after them and is holding on Pidge, oh and there goes my dear Carlos, grabbing onto the both of them. It looks like they managed to get it. Whatever it is. Now, for our sponsor..."

Back with the trio, they were panting, trying to regain there breath. Pidge glared at the machine. "What was that for?"

The machine clicked and whirred in response, some steam escaping. "It looks like a teapot," Matt said, earning an angry whir. 

Carlos tilted his head to the side. "It does resemble that."

"I don't think it likes being a teapot," Pidge said, getting a chirp in response. "How about, a coffee pot?"

An approving tick sounded, and the other two shrugged and nodded. "Alright, so coffee pot it is."

"Cool coffee pot that has a mind of its own," Matt added.

The coffee pot whizzed lowly as if embarrassed by that compliment. "Let's head back to the lab," Carlos said, and so they did.

^-^

Shiro and Hunk were with Cecil, listening to him. They were slightly surprised at what they heard and saw. Station Management seemed to move more often past their door but they didn't do much else.

"Oh, seems Keith, you know, my son and his boyfriend Lance have met Tamika Flynn have met and they have just exited the library, talking about some book with some remains of the librarians still on them," Cecil said, sounding a bit... Proud? Shocked? Shiro wasn't sure. Although what Cecil said left him surprised, especially at the last comment.

"In other news, I have Hunk and Shiro, the one with the cool strange arm, here with me, why don't you two say hi?"

"Oh... Uh, hello," Hunk said, glancing at Shiro.

"Uh, hi."

"It seems they might be a bit shy. No need though. Nothing probably bites here. Why don't you tell us something about what you've been up to? Of course, I could say what you have been up to but I think the listeners will want to know first hand."

Hunk and Shiro looked at each other before Hunk basically pushed Shiro forward to talk. "Um... Well, I guess I should introduce myself? I'm Takashi Shirogane, but everyone usually just calls me Shiro, and I'm the black paladin of Voltron. Hunk is the yellow Paladin. Um, well we are from Earth but we've spent the last years in space fighting a, uh, war. Against Galra."

"Not the Red Blood war or anything like that," Cecil added.

"Right. Well, we won and the Galra Empire is no longer a threat to planets. There are still things that the other Paladins and myself, plus Princess Allura and the Blade of Marmora, have to do to make sure peace is fully restored, but for the most part, the war has ended."

Cecil nodded along as Shiro spoke, his third eye closed. "It is very interesting, yes. Now, I will leave you dear listeners with the sound of an incoming wave that never comes. Good Night, Night Vale... Good Night."

Cecil finished and looked at the other two. "So, want to head back? We can stop to get some food, yeah?"

Hunk and Shiro gave a nod, slowly starting to get used to the mystery that is Cecil Gershwin Palmer.

Yes. Night Vale is a very interesting desert community. A little town. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I am happy to say that i am working on an original story that i will self publish


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. I know I said that it would be longer but I struggled with ideas. thanks, bio. I apologize for not posting yesterday, I completely forgot I was moving.  
> Thank you for the Kudos and comments and I hope you enjoyed this lil story!

_Yes. Night Vale is a very interesting desert community. A little town._

_————_

Cecil walked into the apartment, followed by Hunk and Shiro. He smiled softly when he saw Carlos, not seeming to notice the soot that covered Carlos' face - as well as the soot that covered both Matt and Pidge - and if he did, he didn't mention it. Cecil walked over to Carlos, placing a kiss on his temple. "So, what have you three been up to?"

"Never let teapots near coffeepots," Pidge whispered, shivering. Both Carlos and Matt nodding in agreement.

Shiro raised an eyebrow, looking at his boyfriend. "What?"

"Don't fear shame us, Shiro! Angry teapots are terrifying." Matt crossed his arms, looking away. 

Shiro sat down beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Sorry, sorry."

Before anyone else could say anything more, the door opened and in came Lance and Keith. Lance looked like he had died and Keith was laughing. "That was the worst book club meeting ever."

Keith wheezed at that, trying to stop laughing. "Aww, Lance, don't be like that."  
  
"A book tried to eat me!"

Carlos looked at Lance. "Yeah, most science fiction books will do that," he whispered, leaning into Cecil.

Cecil hummed, wrapping his arms around Carlos and pulling him closer to himself. "They just want to know their readers," he said, humming softly.

Keith nodded, his markings quickly moving and wrapping around his arms before darting to his shoulders and disappearing from view. "Yeah, they aren't that bad, just gotta know what to read and not to read."

Shiro shook his head. "Well, seeing as we're all here now, I think we are nearing a week of staying here which means we'll have to contact Allura soon and let her know that we'll be returning soon."

Cecil looked at him. "You can use the radio station to contact her if you want."

"Alright, thank you," Shiro said, smiling slightly.

"Let's get food, yeah?" Hunk said.

Everyone voiced their agreements. "Big Rico's?" Keith asked, looking at them.

"Yeah, sure. Who wants to come with me?"

"I'll come, Hunk," Pidge said, standing up. "Let's go."

While Hunk and Pidge went to get the food, the rest sat around, talking about town things and what's been happening out in space. 

^-^

Keith smiled softly, nodding. "I promise I'll try to stay in contact," he said, hugging his fathers.

"Please do," Carlos whispered, placing a kiss on Keith's forehead.

Cecil nodded, looking at Keith. "Stay safe."

Keith smiled. "Yeah, I will."

They hugged again before Keith walked back to the paladins. "Alright... Come on..."

The others nodded and went into their lions, Lance staying behind, looking at Keith. "You okay?"

"Huh? Yeah... Just gonna miss this..."

Lance nodded, kissing his cheek. "I know... Just remember to come find me if you need to talk."

keith smiled softly. "Yeah... I will."

Keith looked back at the town one last time before getting into his lion and flying off with the rest, letting out a sigh.

Keith smiled, hearing the gentle music on the radio.

It had been nice seeing his home. He was glad to see everything and maybe this short time that fell like three days had been three days or maybe it had been weeks. Whatever time it was, Keith was glad to have seen his town once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new story is on it's way ;3  
> Editing in progress as well


End file.
